picky

adjective

ˈpi-kē 

pickier; pickiest

: very careful or too careful about choosing or accepting things : fussy, choosy

a picky eater

Because pen collectors are a picky lot, and some antiques dealers who are not in the pen business can overlook the details of condition, there is occasional friction.

—Bill Holland

With rising ticket prices and new competition from cable TV, cost-conscious families may be pickier about the movies they choose to see.

—David Ansen and Martin Kasindorf

pickiness noun

Taylor mocks Zavala for the size of his extended Mexican family, their endless chatter and the frequency of their quinceaneras. Zavala ribs Taylor for his white-person pickiness about artisanal coffee and marriage.

—Belinda Luscombe

Now jobless and forced to live with five housemates in San Jose, Calif., she comes away from every job interview discouraged by employers' pickiness.

—Daniel McGinn

Synonyms

• choosy
• choosey
• dainty
• delicate
• demanding
• exacting
• fastidious
• finical
• finicking
• finicky
• fussbudgety
• fussy
• nice
• old-maidish
• particular
• pernickety [chiefly British]
• persnickety

Examples of picky in a Sentence

a picky cat who would only eat one particular kind of food, and only if it was served in his special dish

she's picky, but she always finds the best quality in fresh meat and fish

Recent Examples on the Web

Jason Kelce Says Friendship Bracelets Were 'Cutting Off My Circulation' During Taylor Swift's London Eras Show Jason and his brother Travis Kelce are a bit picky themselves. —Miles Berry, Peoplemag, 4 July 2024

Fishing guide and owner of The Hatch Outfitters, Seth Fields, is already seeing fish be extremely picky about bugs, even the real ones. —Ryan Chelius, Field & Stream, 29 May 2024

Chewable tablets may have a chalky aftertaste, which is important to consider if your child is a picky eater or has texture aversions. —Dahlia Rimmon, Parents, 24 June 2024

Or, Cesar explains, the streamer is at least being very picky. —Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

picky

adjective

ˈpik-ē 

pickier; pickiest

: fussy sense 2b, finicky